Alcoa joins collaborative research center in Prince George

Published February 9, 2015 by Robert Powell, III

New York-based Alcoa Inc. is joining Prince George County-based Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, a collaborative research organization involving universities and industries.

Alcoa, a global metals company, will become an organizing industry member at CCAM. It will be able to conduct proprietary research at the Prince George facility and retain intellectual property ownership of its results. The company also will be able to collaborate with other member companies on new manufacturing techniques and processes.

The Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM) today announced that Alcoa, a global leader in lightweight metals technology, engineering and manufacturing, will join the research consortium that brings together world-class businesses, Virginia’s top universities, and the NASA Langley Research Center.

As an Organizing Industry Member, Alcoa will conduct proprietary research at CCAM’s state-of-the-art facility in Prince George and retain IP ownership of its developments as well as collaborate with member companies on research for new manufacturing techniques and processes. 

“Alcoa is driven by innovation – not only from our own scientists and engineers but also through collaboration and ideas shared by those outside our company,” Leighton Cooper, Alcoa’s director of technology, said in a statement. “Our membership with CCAM will increase efficiencies and provide advanced manufacturing solutions that will benefit the whole consortium. Alcoa’s role as an industry pioneer directly aligns with that model.”
Cooper will serve on CCAM’s industrial operations board and provide oversight of CCAM’s operations and review of research programs.

Raymond J. Kilmer, executive vice president and chief technology officer of Alcoa, will serve on the board of directors for CCAM, and Sherri McCleary, the company’s director of materials and process technologies will serve on its Technical Advisory Council. 

The CCAM industry and government consortium now numbers 28 members, including Aerojet Rocketdyne, Airbus, Alcoa, Canon Virginia Inc., Chromalloy, Newport News Shipbuilding, Oerlikon Metco, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Coromant, Siemens, Blaser Swisslube, EOS, Hermle Machine Co., Mitutoyo, Paradigm Precision, RTI International Metals, Inc., Buehler, Cool Clean Technologies, GF Machining Solutions, Mechdyne, National Instruments, Spatial Integrated Systems (SIS), and the NASA Langley Research Center. 

Academic partners are the Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia State University and Virginia Tech